


Sleeping Beau

by Roseray



Series: BBS Fairytales [1]
Category: Banana Bus Squad
Genre: Gen, I tried hard not to use the Disney version but some parts snuck in, M/M, The original characters aren't self inserts, The title sucks I'm sorry, they're a little ooc again sorry I'm a beginner
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-23
Updated: 2020-01-09
Packaged: 2020-01-24 09:49:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18568927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Roseray/pseuds/Roseray
Summary: Everyone said life would get crazy when I turned 21, but I didn't expect a curse.





	1. Let's cut to the chase

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time posting something I've written so I'm really scared I'll mess it up somehow. You can call me Roseray and hopefully this will be the beginning of a successful project. The story has been Beta read, but my grammar sucks so if you see mistakes feel free to (nicely) point them out in the comments. Constructive Criticism is welcome but flaming will flat out be ignored. Unless stated otherwise everything is written in Third Person POV. I hope you enjoy the story.

A large rectangle table filled most of the room with just enough space left for the servants to come when called upon by the royalty in each seat. At the head of the table sat a man and woman both of Asian heritage, the hosting king was dressed in lighter colors offset with his dark skin, brown eyes, and short brown hair. While the queen wore dark clothes clashing with her lighter skin and long black hair with brown eyes. The room was filled with the talk of treaties and trades the conversation dominated by the hosting king whose voice was heard from anywhere in the room. As talks came to an end the hosting king stood up holding a stack of parchment under his arm while his empty hand extended to the queen “I thank you for coming all this way to keep the peace between all our kingdoms and I wish you all safe travels on your trips home!”. The queen grabbed the offered hand and pulled herself up as her husband turned toward the ornate doors leading out of the room, with a snap of his fingers at the waiting servants the king and queen start walking to the doors “not so fast your majesties!” the bored drawl stopped the pair in their tracks. “are we not gonna address the elephant in the room?” was asked as the king looked back at the room filled with onlooking royalty except for a smirking figure clad in red and black, the king’s brows tightened in annoyance when looking upon a man with short straight black hair, white skin, and dark brown eyes though one is covered with a black eyepatch. “though we are allies my kingdoms business is none of yours King Luke.” was bitten out through gritted teeth, Luke’s smirk grew bigger “your business affects all of us, besides everyone is thinking about it.” he gestured his arms at the onlooker filled room royals and servants alike “your curse!”. The king fully turned to face the room as it erupted into sound. 

 

A cottage surrounded by trees and low forest sounds, the sudden sound of approaching footsteps overpowers everything else. A man with short curly brown hair and white skin wearing bakers clothes walks out of the trees setting dark brown eyes on the cottage and sighing in relief before walking to the door and opening it. “Brock, have you seen him, I've been looking for an hour and I can’t fucking find him, what if he got hurt what I-?!” yells a man with short black hair and bright green eyes wide with worry wearing a green tunic and trousers who grabs Brock by the shoulders and starts shaking him. “David, David, shut up for a second and stop shaking me!” Brock screamed, pushing David away and brushing off his clothes after a second, he looks at David's face and seeing how worried he is sighs “now what happened, who are you looking for?”. David looks to the side “Evan, he said he was going out for a bit, but he's been gone for a while and I'm getting worried, I’ve already checked by the river and he wasn’t there.” a hand landed softly on David’s shoulder as he looked at the door. A smile crosses Brock’s face as he pats David on the shoulder “don’t stress yourself out, we’ll find him. He probably just lost track of time like usual.” Brock says turning around and heading to the door pulling it partially open before turning halfway around “if Ryan comes home before I get back don’t start shaking him as soon as he gets in the door.” he said continuing out the door until it shut behind him. David looks at the shut door for a second before frowning and crossing his arms pale skin flushed with embarrassment “I was only expressing my care for him sheesh.” 

 

He was running through the trees around bushes towards the goal until jumping onto a large rock only to then jump towards a wide tree branch. “oomph!” the air was knocked from his lungs as light brown arms clung onto the branch and legs lightly swaying in the wind before being pulled up onto the branch with the rest of his body. Dark brown eyes look down before shifting to look up into the rest of the tree’s branches as the wind gently tousles shoulder length slightly curly black hair. A smile appears on his face before he stands on the branch and reaches for the next pulling himself up, getting faster and faster as he keeps ascending the tree until reaching the last few sturdy branches and sits watching the sky. “hoo” cuts through the silence causing the man to look around until a horned owl lands on the branch next to him the man fondly looks at the owl before looking back at the sky. 

“Evan?!” the voice startles Evan before he starts to descend the tree, a regretful look on his face “you here?!” the voice continues slowly getting louder the closer Evan gets to the ground. As Evan steps onto one of the lower branches he sees Brock walking closer underneath him and smirks, carefully holding onto the branch “boo!” Evan shouts hanging from the branch right in front of Brock. “aahhh oh my god Evan, what the hell?!” Brock screamed frowning, clutching his chest, and backing away from the still hanging Evan. “ohh come on, you should have expected that.” a few gaspy laughs escaping as Evan lets go of the branch landing for a second before falling backwards “oof fuck, the fall always gets me.” said Evan while he brushes some leaves from his lap. Brock sighed fondly before extending his hand and smiling “I swear one day that little joke will kill me.” Evan smiles as he grabs the hand and pulls himself up “I've been doing this same trick for years you need to start expecting it sooner or later, so then you wouldn’t be as scared.” Evan shook his head fondly as he tried to get leaves and twigs out of his hair. “I don’t think I'll ever get used to it.” said Brock, ruffling Evan’s hair before looking at Evan with a worried face “how are you?” Evan glanced up, face suddenly somber before looking away while lowering his hands. After a second, he sighs deeply “I just got a little worried.” Brock looks at him worriedly before his face changes to resigned and he puts an arm around Evan’s shoulders and starts walking. “let me guess, you’re worried about your birthday?” Evan walking beside him frowns before slowly nodding “I don’t know why but when I think about turning 21 my stomach feels sick and my head fills with dread.” Brock looks at Evan with sympathy “I had a feeling you weren’t feeling your best, more times than not I find you here when you’re worried, hah, I guess I know you too well.” Evan huffs and slightly glares at Brock “no you don’t you just think that because you raised me, I bet David and Ryan would have been able to find me just as easily!” Brock stares for a moment before smiling wide “are you sure about that because when I got home today David was hysterical because he couldn’t find you.” Evan rolls his eyes before grinning mischievously “you got me there, David couldn’t find his way out of a potato sack even if his life depended on it.” Brock lightly punches Evans shoulder while shaking his head fondly “hey, show some respect for your elders!” Brock grins as Evan laughs “maybe I should be worried, I thought I raised a capable adult not a disrespectful child.” They both laugh as they come to a small village with bustling villagers. “I am a capable adult I swear!” yelled Evan as they stood on the outskirts of the village “are you now? Well I guess a responsible adult like yourself wouldn’t mind running an errand for his poor uncle.” Brock said with a teasing smile. Evan rolled his eyes before nodding “great, because I need to go home and tell David you’re safe. All you need to do is pick up our package from the tailor.” Brock says turning back towards the forest as Evan looks toward the village “I’ve got it, you go stop David’s heart from giving out.” Evan starts walking into the crowd as Brock looks after him with a proud smile. Brock gets past the first line of trees before snapping his fingers causing a pink and orange light to envelope him dispersing a second later to reveal a bald eagle that proceeds to fly into the sky quickly fading from view. 

 

Evan is slowly walking through the forest holding a paper wrapped parcel occasionally looking up through the trees at a dark orange and pink sky as Evan comes to a stream a tree nearby starts rustling loudly drawing his attention. Evan cautiously approaches the tree after dropping the parcel then picking up a sturdy fallen branch along the way and brandishing it threateningly. “Ahhhhh!” a man dressed in a brown tunic, trousers and work boots with short brown hair and white skin falls from the tree, staggering to his feet towards Evan he reaches out a hand “get back!” Evan screams as he hit the man in the side with the branch. “the fuck?! What is wrong with you?!” the man yells falling into a curled position on the ground Evan drops the branch and kneels next to the man “fuck, look you scared me and I panicked!” the man glares at Evan through narrowed eyes “do you just hit every stranger you meet?” he stops to breathe “where did a short prick like you learn to hit like that anyway?” Evan frowns before helping him sit up and lean against a tree. “a friend taught me besides I'm not used to seeing strangers, we barely get them at my village” the man looks around then start to stand up “well say hello to your new neighbor.” he grumbled holding his side Evan sighs before nervously crossing his arms “I’m sorry please don’t tell my uncles.”. The man glances at Evan before huffing a laugh “what's your name?” Evan smiles “my name is Evan what's yours?” The man smiles back “my name is Tyler...it was nice being attacked, but I think I should head home and rest.” Evan looks after him concerned “you’re not gonna get pass out in the woods, right? I would hate to get blamed for your death!” Tyler lightly laughs before shaking his head “I'll be fine, you be safe on your way home!” Evan looks after the retreating figure before hesitantly continuing on his way. A few seconds later a bush farther down the path rustles heavily making Evan pause in his tracks a man with short, slightly spiked, light brown hair and hazel eyes with glasses steps out of the bush wearing a simple tunic and trousers carrying a bow and a string of rabbits. 

Evan upon seeing the man smiles excitedly waving as he runs toward him “Ryan!” the man startles before catching sight of Evan’s approaching figure “hey what are you doing out this late?” he asked with a look of stern concern “oh relax, Brock asked me to pick up your guys package from the tailor.” Evan holds up the package, shaking it teasingly with a goofy grin on his face “what did you guys even get?” Ryan shakes his head smiling “you’ll have to wait till your birthday to find out.” Ryan claps Evan on the back after transferring the bow to his shoulder “lets head home.” Evan laughs drawing a confused look from Ryan “if we even have a home left Brock told me David was freaking out earlier.” Ryan’s confused look changes to realization then humor “then we better hurry before he shakes Brock to death.” they both laugh and start walking deeper into the forest, Evan looks back once more in worry before turning back to Ryan with a smile. 

 

A caravan of Knights and servants with carts and horses traipse after Luke and the two knights behind him. “so, your majesty what's the plan?” asked the Knight with short spiked dark brown hair, brown eyes, and light brown skin smiling as his horse trotted beside Luke’s. Luke looks to side for a second before refacing forward and frowning “you know Lui, normally I'd be glad you’re using my actual title for once in your damn life, but after that shitshow I'm not in the mood” Luke says, glancing at an unapologetic Lui, a huff draws Luke’s attention to a knight with black skin, buzzed black hair, and brown eyes trotting slightly behind them “aww come on, you know we weren’t going to get any logical answers from that king, no one ever does”. “I know, Mark but that doesn’t make it any less frustrating” Luke says angrily before his eyes land a village emerging from the trail before them the caravans slow to a stop as the servants and knights start unloading tents and supplies from the carts. 

Luke stays on his horse with Lui and Mark on their horses beside him. Luke watches some village children run up to the soldiers and start talking, then watching the busy village marketplace nearby “look at them.” Lui and Mark perk up interested “they have no idea that in just two weeks their entire lives could be changed by something completely out of their control and their king is so damn confident that he can stop it that he won’t even entertain the idea of another kingdom helping.” Luke says voice full of melancholy. All three watch the village for a moment in silence “as angry as this makes us there's only so much, we can do...for now let's focus on the things that bring us joy.” Mark says smiling sadly starting to dismount from his horse “speaking of joy this is the last village before you get to see a special someone isn’t it?” Lui chimes in with a smug grin, also dismounting from his horse “hey, you shut your mouth, I don’t know what you're talking about!” Luke screams, a light blush crossing his face before dismounting his horse and facing the two knights “we need to set up camp for the night so shut your mouths and make yourselves useful!” 

 

The king is sat at a writing desk furiously writing on multiple pieces of paper with a quill before angrily snapping his fingers at a servant stationed by the door “I want this delivered with the utmost care and secrecy, the directions for the messenger are on the back as usual” the servant grabs the note and quickly walks out of the room as the King looks out a window at the kingdom with a annoyed frown. 

 

Evan is tiredly sitting on the branch of a tree picking apples and putting them in a basket to the side of him. He grabs another apple and starts transferring it to the basket only to lose hold halfway and drop it “ow! What the fuck!” Evan looks down seeing Tyler hold the apple with one hand while rubbing his head with the other. Evan starts to laugh as Tyler looks up with a confused glare “did you just throw that at me?” Evan smiles mischievously before shaking his head “who me? Nah I would never” Tyler narrows his eyes before chuckling “what are you, an owl? Evan’s smile falls as he gets a confused look on his face “an owl?”. Tyler grins as he throws the apple in the air and catches it again “yeah, you know, the whole lives in the trees, says hoo, and they sleep during the day.” Evan looks confused for a second before huffing “just because I'm in a tree and I said hoo doesn’t mean I'm an owl, besides, I don’t sleep during the day.” Tyler gives him an unconvinced look before lazily biting into the apple “you got something to say you-you piggy!” Evan yells as Tyler starts choking and smacking his chest. Tyler finally stops coughing and glares at Evan with an annoyed face “what did you just call me?” Evan smiles smugly as he resumes picking apples “you heard me, piggy” Tyler growls “I am not a pig!” Evan points to the apple still held in Tyler’s hand “really? Because with that in your mouth you look the spitting image of a pig ready to be served for dinner.” Tyler frowns for a second then smiles “well I'm not gonna stop calling you an owl and you won't stop calling me a pig so I guess we’re at a stalemate.” Evan looks thoughtful for a second before smiling as well “yeah sure. Hey, think you could help me out with this basket?” Tyler shrugs and steps closer “what do you need me to do?” Evan grabs the basket and pulls it onto his lap “I usually drop this when it's time for me to come down but that always bruises the ones on the bottom so I need you to gently lower this to the ground.” Tyler nods and raises his arms toward Evan, hands ready “If you need to you can pass the apples to me so they don’t get bruised dropping from so high.” Evan nods lowering the basket into Tyler’s hands “yeah, let's do that.”. As Tyler grabs the basket Evan guiltily looks away “how’s your side?” Tyler glances up then sets the basket down “it’s fine, it stopped hurting before I even got home...thanks for asking.” they both smile before turning back to their task. 

 

Brock, Ryan, and David are standing around a mannequin wearing a high-quality white shirt, brown trousers, and a white cloak. David frowns for a second before snapping his fingers, a swirl of green magic comes from the snap and rushes to the clothes turning the shirt green and the cloak black “I think he would look great in this.”. Ryan rolls his eyes before waving his hand dismissively, turning them back to white with a strand of silver magic “of course you like it, but will he?” David pouts before Brock steps up and snaps his fingers turning the shirt yellow and causing a gradient of pink and orange to create swirls on the cloak “he likes patterns so it should definitely have some” Brock said, stepping back and admiring his work. Ryan and David glance at each other before sighing “the swirls are a nice touch but I don’t think he would appreciate the colors.” Ryan says, putting a hand on Brock’s shoulder. Ryan glances at the outfit before his face lightens up and he waves the clothes back to white then snaps his fingers, the shirt turns golden with black accents while the cloak turns black with golden swirls decorating the edge “there!”. Brock and David look the clothes up and smile, giving a thumbs up “he’ll love it.” David says waving his hand to make the clothes come off the mannequin and fold itself before floating into another room out of view. Brock stretches then glances around the room “well, we’d better start cleaning up before he gets home and tries to figure out what we were doing.” David and Ryan nod before starting to clean up.


	2. I know you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know I've been reading fanfiction for years, but I only know how hard it is to actually make fanfiction now because of this story. it is so hard to keep myself to a writing/uploading schedule. well chapter 2 is finally here and I hope you enjoy it, again there are likely quite a few grammar mistakes me and my beta try our best but we're only human. if you didn't know (you probably didn't because I forgot to mention it last chapter) I have a tumblr it's Ashleygren and I sometimes talk about AU ideas and random other things check it out if you want.

David is being handed a package by an elderly man in a fruit stall when the sound of hooves causes him and the surrounding people to turn towards the entrance of the village. A large caravan led by Luke comes into view causing the villagers to start murmuring amongst themselves, David watches as Luke speaks to Mark for a second then starts looking around eyes finally landing on David. “oh boy.” David sighs as the foreign king rides closer and closer “David!” Luke yelled excitedly while sporting a large grin. Luke stops his horse and swiftly dismounts walking over to David and warmly wrapping his arm around David’s shoulder “how's my favorite guy doing?” David gives him a deadpan look and eyes the hand on his shoulder with annoyance “shit personal space I forgot I just missed you so much I've missed this whole village.” Luke removes his hand and shuffles back a few steps while bashfully rubbing the back of his neck David huffs and crosses his arms “wow ye are really laying it on tick today.” Luke sulks for a second then lifts up his head a frown set on his face “I’ve had a really rough trip and I would appreciate it if you could just tell me where I can find him.” David opens his mouth to answer “Hey Luke!” “your majesty!” Luke and David turn back towards the caravan to see Mark, Lui, Brock, and Ryan walking towards them. Brock and Ryan smile as they both stop in front of the two “let me guess you want to know where he is?” Brock asks looking pointedly at Luke who nods “I think he went to his usual spot by the stream.” Ryan remarks with a smile while gesturing to the forest. Luke smiles gratefully at Ryan and Brock before confidently striding into the woods, Brock looks at David with an exasperated smile “tell me again why you don’t like him?” David puffs up and frowns at the ground “I don’t need to tell ye nothing” the rest of the small group laugh before heading to the caravan and helping to set up camp. David starts walking into the forest disappearing in a swirl of green sparks right past the trees. 

 

Luke is walking through the forest when he steps out of a collection of bushes into a small clearing with a stream running through it. A snore breaks through the gentle combined noise of the forest and stream causing Luke to walk closer towards a tree a few feet away from himself. Luke looks up into the branches spotting a leg swaying gently he smiles fondly before turning around walking about a foot away from the tree and putting on a ridiculous worried frown the back of his hand held against his forehead “oh woe is me I appear to be lost in this forest!” the snoring stops and a light rustle is heard from the leaves behind him the noise causes his lips to twitch into a smile before going back to a frown “however will I get out of these dark and dangerous woods!”. The rustling becomes frantic as Luke looks at the tree out of the corner of his eye “Luke?” is murmured tiredly as Evan descends from the last tree branch to the ground Luke turns around arms outstretched and smiles warmly at the figure frozen in shock. “Luke!” Evan yells as he excitedly runs into Luke’s outstretched arms “you took longer than you said you would!” Luke lightly laughs while shaking his head “the talks took longer than any of us expected, but hey I'm here now aren’t I?” Evan smiles and let's go to step back “not good enough I think I'll just leave you in these dark and dangerous woods to rot.” he walks past Luke heading toward the bushes Luke came out of. Luke sighs fondly before following after him “you would do that to little ol me how cruel!” Evan smiles and turns around to stand back straight in front of Luke, his hand gesturing to the space between their heads “little? Yeah right, next to you most people look tiny.”. Smirking down at the shorter man Luke wraps an arm around his waist “by most people don’t you just mean yourself?” laughing Evan gently shakes his head “now I’ll never forgive you.” Luke smirks before spinning Evan around and placing a hand on his arm right below the shoulder and entwining his fingers with Evan’s “wanna dance?”. Smiling Evan places his hand on Luke’s waist and smiles warmly into his eyes the pair swaying in place for a second before starting to dance around the clearing in a simple waltz the lead changing every few steps. “am I forgiven yet?” Luke asks with a smug smile Evan pretends to think for a moment before smiling back “I wasn’t even mad...I missed you.” Luke’s face softens and he moves his hands to Evan’s waist and lifting him up while spinning “woo!” Evan yelps. The pair come to a stop as Evan is slowly placed on the ground Luke rests his forehead against Evan and closes his eyes hands grabbing hold of Evan’s who copies the movements “I missed you too.” Luke mutters quietly face relaxed and smiling. 

David looks at the pair from a high tree branch with a concerned frown and worried eyes before sighing and closing his eyes resigned as he sits in the tree a green wave of light envelopes him before disappearing and leaving only a green hawk. David flies off the branch and starts to turn towards the village when he suddenly stops and dives towards another clearing landing in the middle as the green light envelops him again. David now human again looks around suspiciously before raising his hand and waving it over the ground in front of himself, after a second black footsteps and lines leading into the trees appear. David narrows his eyes before stepping closer crouching down and touching the footsteps, David’s eyes widen as he stumbles back from the tracks breathing hard, he slowly pulls himself up then snaps his fingers and flies away as a hawk. 

 

A man in messenger clothing is riding a horse outfitted with packs on its side swiftly on a bright forest road when he suddenly pulls on the reigns causing the horse to stop a couple feet away from a fallen tree blocking the road. The messenger dismounts and walks toward the tree looking annoyed “the king will kill me if I don’t finish the job quick enough...what am I gonna do?” a shadowed figure steps out onto the road behind the messenger. The horse softly whinnies causing the messenger to look behind himself before horror overtakes his features “oh my god.” sweat starts to run down his face and his knees start to shake as the figure gets closer “ple-please spare me. I am merely a messenger for the king I can’t do you any harm!” the figure stops before the now cowering and bowing messenger. Looking up after a moment of complete silence he sees a raised hand above his head face contorted in terror he raises his hands in a plea “please spare my life.” the figure snaps their fingers a large swirl of black magic covering the Messenger head to toe his screams being swallowed. Looking at the now unconscious Messenger then turning away the shadowed figure walks to the horse and starts looking through it packs eventually pulling out a letter the wax seal edged with gold, they open the letter and huff after a second of staring at it. The figure lowers the letter and looks toward the castle in the distance “every time I think you can’t disappoint me anymore you find a way.” they shake their head before rewrapping the letter, waving their hand causing a black light to seal the edges shut, and placing it back into the pack before waving their hand towards the fallen tree that then proceeds to disappear, with one last look at the fallen body nearby they raise their hand. SNAP! The messenger jerks awake and hurriedly stands up from where he was leaning against a tree breathing hard and looks around, his face sports a confused frown as he looks at the empty surroundings then at the horse “I-I guess I must have stopped for a rest and fallen asleep?” the messenger scratches his head before pausing “what a nightmare?” he slowly mounts the horse and starts back down the path unaware to the shadow watching from the trees. 

 

Evan and Luke are walking towards Evan’s cottage when the front door opens revealing David, Brock, and Ryan having a tense conversation. The two groups both stop and stare at each other in surprise before Evan looks curiously between his uncles “are you guys ok...you seem a little tense?” David opens his mouth the speak but, is stopped by Ryan raising a hand “it’s fine there was just a problem with something we ordered and it’s stressing David out.” at Ryan’s words Evan looks at knowingly at David. “yeah it’s nothing to worry about.” David mutters putting his hands in the pockets of his trousers as Ryan and Brock fix Evan with stern looks “I think a better question is where have you been all day.” Brock says arms crossed, Evan glances at Luke then back to his uncles before opening his mouth to speak “and don’t even think of trying to talk your way out it I happen to know for a fact your chores aren’t done.” Ryan adds before he can talk “chores aside its late we were getting worried about you.” David chimes in gesturing to the darkening orange sky above the trees. Evan sighs before holding up both hands stopping the uncle’s chatter after a moment of silence he lowers his arms “I’m sorry about the chores I'll try to get some done today and the rest tomorrow, as for staying out well I'm 20 and able to defend myself have some faith in me besides Luke was there and if we ran into trouble I could just throw him in front of me and run.” Luke rolls his eyes and playfully glares at Evan upon hearing this “nice to know you care.” Evan winks at him before turning back to the now bashful men Brock coughs into his fist while nudging Ryan with his shoulder pointedly looking at the two in front of them “sorry” Evan nods and turns to Luke “you should get back to your camp before Lui and Mark put together a search party.” Luke smiles and winks in Evan’s direction before striding back down the path soon out of sight. 

Evan looks at his uncles with a knowing look and walks toward the cottage the three quickly following after him, once inside Evan sits at the table facing away from them “does this have to do with my birthday?” the three men slightly startle before looking at each confused. David steps towards the table trying to catch Evan’s eyes “no not at all why would ye tink that?” Evan sighs looking down at the table “I know mom and dad passed away on my birthday...it would make sense if you guys are upset on the day you lost your friends.” Ryan softly smiles at Evan before moving forward and laying a hand on his shoulder soothingly “even if we’re sad about that, the fact we get to celebrate you coming into our lives makes up for everything else.” Evan looks up into Ryan’s face before looking at Brock and David “do you think they would be proud of me?” David and Ryan nod smiling as Brock sits in the chair across from Evan “of course they would besides we’re proud of you and we always have been...never doubt that.” Evan smiles before yawning “I’m gonna start on my chores.” he moves to get up when Ryan shakes his head lightly pushing his shoulder toward a hallway “don’t worry about it you can do them tomorrow for now I think we all need some rest.” Evan tiredly nods and stumbles down the hallway while Brock, Ryan, and David all look at each other tiredly before moving to put the house to rest. 

 

The king and queen stand next to each other in a hall in front of a room watching builders weld iron to the walls, ceilings, and floor inside. The builders glance nervously at the pair every couple minutes before going back to work. In a dark corner of the hallway the shadowed figure looks on with no visible emotion, the king shivers and looks behind him paranoia plain as day on his face. “what’s wrong?” the queen asks a look of concern directed at her husband; the king slowly shakes his head before looking back towards the room and glaring at the watching builders causing them to hurry back to work. “it’s nothing.” the king mutters fully turning to the room as a troubled frown crosses the shadowed figures face and they flicker for a moment then disappear. 

 

Evan is lying in a bed blanket wrapped around him tossing and turning while sweat drips down his forehead. He continues to fidget before turning and falling off the bed, Evan’s eyes shoot open and he fumbles with the blanket dislodging it and showing a shirtless chest. As he sits up and looks around a breeze flows through the room causing him to shake until he wraps the blanket around his shoulders. He looks around the small room before standing up and walking to a dresser with an open shelf, picking out a brown tunic he throws it on then pulls on some shoes and looking towards the window. After a second, he opens it and climbs out quickly disappearing into the forest in the darkness of the cottage a quiet snap is heard before the door open and a small object runs into the forest leaving a trail of silver magic. 

Luke is sat up in a tent shirtless surrounded by blankets writing on a piece of parchment a thoughtful frown on his face. He goes to write something when the entrance to the tent opens revealing Evan with a finger to his lips. “wait it's just me!” Evan loudly whispers fearfully looking into the darkness behind him before crawling into the tent in front of a frozen Luke. “my god you almost stopped my heart!” Luke whispers back hand clutching the skin above his heart and taking deep breaths, he calms down sets the parchment aside and glances at Evan with worry “what are you doing here?...did something happen?” Evan stares at the ground with a haunted before slowly shaking his head “no I I just nee- look can I stay here tonight?” Luke reaches out and gently grabs Evan by the shoulder and pulls him until his head rests on Luke’s shoulder. “I’ll always welcome you spending the night with me but you need to tell me what happened...you’re kinda scaring me.” Evan stares at the back of the tent before closing his eyes, sighing, and then slightly pulling his head away. “I was dreaming I know I was but it felt so real.” Luke puts an arm around his waist and pulling him into a sitting position “I started out walking in some huge hallway, but I didn’t recognize it and it went on forever I don’t even know how long I was walking for” Evan takes a deep breath before continuing “I found a room it had all these tables stacked with food and drink, but there was no one there or at least I thought there wasn’t I heard something crying? It was coming from this crib on a podium.” Luke’s eyes furrow in confusion “I got closer and I tried to peek in, but before I could whatever was in it shot shadows into the room and started covering everything and when I looked around everyone I know was asleep I tried to wake you all u-!” Evan breaks off with a choked gasp and wraps his arms around his legs pulling he knees up to his chin and shaking. “you wouldn’t wake up no matter what I did!” some tears fall down his cheek into his arms, Luke pats his shoulder absent-mindingly face pale and filled with worry “it’s just a bad dream we’re safe Evan.” Evan tiredly nods and gives a strained smile “I don’t know why I worry you’re the one with a whole kingdom willing to die for you.” Luke smiles “are you sure you’re not talking about Jon?” Evan shakes his head a small playful smile creeping onto his face. 

He rests a hand thoughtfully on his chin “he is rather endearing, isn’t he?” Luke softly bumps Evan’s shoulder before gesturing to the parchment next to his blanket clad thigh “are you sure you don’t mean annoying he always sends letters asking about how long I'll be gone; I swear he forgets I'm the older out of the two of us.” Evan huffs a laugh “I don’t blame him your record isn’t the best” Luke gasps mockingly “I don’t know what you’re talking about you brat!” Evan laughs “don’t think I can’t remember how we met!”. Luke smiles fondly before grabbing a pillow and tossing it in Evan’s face “hey fuck you!” he smirks leaning closer “maybe tomorrow, for now you need rest.” Evan huffs before moving the pillow behind him and pulling some blankets over his legs “sleep well your majesty.” he mutters sarcastically before laying down. Luke rolls his eyes fondly before moving the parchment away from the bed and reaching for the lit candle in a holder blowing it out. 

 

A young boy with short straight black hair and black eyes with pale skin wearing the clothes of royalty is walking through the forest a look of fear covering his face, the branches of a tree close to him start to rustle loudly. “who’s there?! The rustling stops as the boy grabs a stick from the ground and brandishes it threateningly at the tree “I’m warning you I've been trained to use a sword since birth!” after a moment of silence the boy steps closer to the tree craning his head to try and see into the branches “you’re not even holding a sword!” “ahhhh!” the boy scrambles back dropping the stick as a head pokes out from the branches. A younger boy with short black hair slightly spiked in the front with brown eyes and light brown skin wearing a simple brown tunic and trousers jumps from the branches shakily landing in front of the stunned boy in front of him “you look so strange” the older boy huffs anger and annoyance crossing his face “no I don’t, I look like every other kid just more majestic!”. The younger boy crosses his arms and frowns “well excuse me I haven’t met any other kids before!” they both glare at the other before the older boy glances to the side and back to the younger above him and frowns confused “really?”. The younger boy looks at the ground embarrassed before nodding “there’s only adults and old people in my village and my uncles never take me to other places.” the older boy nods “my name’s Evan... what’s yours?” Evan continues extending a hand “umm well most people call me Prince Luke, but it’s a mouthful you can call me Luke” he mutters grabbing the hand and standing up. Evan stares wide eyed at him “aren’t princes supposed to have a bunch of knights around?” Luke blushes and rubs the back of his neck “they were boring and this is my first time in this kingdom I thought I would remember the way back.” Evan nods shock still coloring his face before worry joins and he grabs Luke’s hand “we need to get you back to your knights or they’ll be scared!” he starts running through the forest a shocked Luke being pulled behind him before he starts to run as well. The forest fades out as the voices of the boy's fade revealing a grown Evan and Luke asleep in the tent. 

 

A small silver rabbit sits obscured from the view of the knights against a tree eyes focused on the tent. Looking around it turns and runs through the forest trees becoming nothing but blurs as it arrives at the brightly lit cottage, the door opens revealing David who picks up the rabbit and brings it inside. Brock sits at the table staring into a cup of tea, but he quickly stands up when David and the rabbit enter the room “is he ok?” a snap is heard as Ryan walks to the table the last traces of silver magic fading now human. “he’s with Luke everything's ok.” he says grabbing the forgotten cup and taking a quick sip “I think he just needed to talk to someone close to his age.”. David nods solemnly “besides this gives us time to decide what to do about him.” Ryan and Brock both frown at those words before Brock sighs. “everything is happening so fast I don’t know how we’re getting through this.” David pats his shoulder before sitting at the table “we might as well get started, agreed?” Ryan and Brock nod before also sitting at the table.


	3. Walk of Shame

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really happy I was able to get this chapter uploaded in less time than it took for chapter 2. My beta is amazing and deserves all the love in the world. Thanks to him I was able to update two days before my birthday, on the 19th I'll be turning twenty years old and its kind of nuts. thank you to all of the kind people who left kudos on this story I get so happy every time I see them. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

A bedraggled Evan approaches his still open window and climbs into his room throwing himself on the bed and falling asleep. Knock knock knock knock knock “Evan, it's time for breakfast!” Ryan’s voice cuts through the morning silence causing Evan to blink tiredly at the door before sleepily groaning and rubbing his face “Evan?” Ryan continues curiosity lacing his tone “I’ll be down in a second!” Evan yells, sluggishly pulling himself up. 

A few minutes later Evan walks into the kitchen rubbing his eyes and yawning while Brock, Ryan, and David watch amused from the table each with a plate of food and drink in front of them. Evan grabs an apple from a bowl in the center of the table before sitting down his head held up by his empty hand “so it looks like ye had a good night.” brings Evan’s attention to David’s amusement filled face “umm yeah it was ok.” he awkwardly looks down lightly blushing while taking a bite. “would you like to explain why you snuck out last night.” Evan’s head whips up in shock at Brock’s words “yo- *cough* you know?!” the three men all nod. A look of seriousness crosses David’s face “we would appreciate it if ye warned us next time so we don’t panic next time we find yur bed empty.” Ryan and Brock make sounds of agreement “and Evan you know you can talk to us, right?” Brock says trying to catch Evan’s eyes. “I know.” he mutters looking away. Ryan opens his mouth to speak before David pats his shoulder softly shaking his head Ryan sighs “let's get started on chores.” Evan frowns looking at Brock expectedly “how many am I doing?” Brock smiles “just your regular two.” Evan’s face changes to confusion “but I didn’t finish them yesterday? Shouldn’t I have more?” Ryan shakes his head before taking a drink “we were being too hard on ye, just catch up on what ye missed yesterday and it’ll be fine.” David answered standing from the chair and stretching. Evan stands confused before brightly smiling, grabbing his apple, and hugging the three men “thanks I'll be done before you know it!” he yelled sprinting up the stairs. The three men at look at each other in fond amusement before getting to their own tasks. 

 

Evan is walking through the forest a basket of dirty clothes held tightly in his arms, he comes to the clearing and steps toward the stream. “Boo!” Tyler drops down from a tree beside Evan hands held above his head in claws “aahh?! Fuck you!” Evan screams pulling the basket in front of his head before lowering it and glaring. He turns back towards the stream an embarrassed frown directed at the waters as Tyler laughs in the background “if you don’t have anything better to do than laugh at me then go bother someone else.”. Evan starts to wash the clothes in the water as Tyler’s laughter slows into light chuckling “sorry the opportunity was just too good to pass up. What are you doing?” Evan rolls his eyes “now I know how Brock feels.” he mutters a smile tugging at his lips “I’m doing my chores.”. Tyler looks at the laundry before snorting “really? Laundry? I thought you picked apples?” Evan shrugs “I do both besides it keeps me busy and out of trouble...or so my uncles say.” Tyler watches him clean before shrugging and sitting down next to him. He grabs some of the clothes and copies Evan’s actions “thanks I slacked off yesterday and got behind” Tyler nods “nah I get it. I was pretty busy yesterday too.”. Evan looks at Tyler a understanding look on his face “settling into your house right? Where did you live before this place?” a thoughtful look covers Tyler’s face “pretty much everywhere else in the kingdom...I grew up traveling from one spot to the next” Evan grimaces as he starts to rub soap into the clothes “I wish I could see the rest of the kingdom. I’ve had enough of this place to last a lifetime.”. Tyler glances over before smiling “well you might not be able to go there yet but I could tell you what the different villages are like if you want.” Evan looks up shocked before nodding vigorously “of course I want to! Can we start right now?” Tyler nods causing Evan to raise his arms in the air in glee. 

 

David sits at the table frowning into his cup “I tink he’s spending too much time with Luke.” across the table Brock turns to him perplexed as Ryan rolls his eyes “he needs other people to talk to then just us David.” narrowing his eyes at Ryan’s tired remark David slams his fist down “but why him?!”. Ryan frowns “we’ve had this conversation before, let it go.” seeing David stand Ryan rises to stand eye to eye with the other man while Brock watches from the table “I don’t understand why you insist on hating him!” Ryan yells as David puffs up his chest and crosses his arms “I don’t tink we should let him get attached when it could all fall apar!-” Ryan steps forward “If it does fall apart he could be our only hope!”. Slam! Ryan and David turn to see Brock with both hands slammed on the table a pained frown on his face “we’re not going to let it get that far so there's no point in talking about what ifs.” Brock says through clenched teeth glaring at both men Ryan nods while David looks over at a piece of parchment covered in squiggles, the lines are smudged and the page is dotted with the inky fingerprints of a small child. 

 

A younger Evan sits at the table bent over a piece of parchment a piece of charcoal held tightly in his fist and his face scrunched in concentration. Brock walks into the room and looks around before seeing Evan and walking over “hey bud what ya got there?” he tries to peek over Evan’s shoulder but fails when he turns the page facedown “it’s not finished yet!” Brock raises his eyebrows fondly smiling before raising his hands in surrender “ok I'll let you get back to your masterpiece.”. Ryan and David walk in seeing Brock watch Evan from the living room they both take seats next to him with curious looks. Ryan leans toward Brock “so what is he doing?” Brock shrugs “I don’t actually know he wouldn’t let me se-” “it’s done it’s done!” the three men jolt before turning watching as Evan struggles to climb off the chair parchment in hand. “here let me help ye” David says walking to the table and picking Evan up only to set him down on his feet. Evan smiles before grabbing David’s trousers and pulling him to Ryan and Brock “look look!”. Evan proudly holds up the parchment revealing multiple squiggles vaguely in the shape of people while big crooked letter along the top of the page spell My uncle dads, black fingerprints dot the surface. The three men all stand in shock around Evan before a loud sniffle breaks the silence, Evan looks at Ryan in confusion and then worry upon seeing tears run down his face “Ohm? Why are you crying?” his hands start to shake as he turns toward Brock “Moo! What's wrong with Ohm?!”. The three men envelop Evan in a group hug with bright smiles “he’s ok Evan he’s just really happy...we all are.” David mutters ruffling Evan’s hair fondly. 

 

“no! We can’t just keep putting our hope on one plan, We did that last time and look what happened! An entire Kingdom was cursed!” staring in shock Brock goes to speak but is stopped by David steping forward fists clenched and eyes alight with rage “ye’ve never once tought tat someone could know better ten ye and look where tat’s led us! For once can ye put aside yur pride so we can make sure Evan survives!” heavily breathing he bows his head fingers slowly uncurling. Hesitantly walking forward Brock gently lays a hand on his shoulder and squeezes “David?” Ryan slowly approaches from the side “David? I’m sorry about Wildcat. None of us wanted what happened, but you’re right we should have learned from it.” the two men gently pull him into a hug. David’s hands come up around their arms “we need more plans in case this one fails.” leaning back Brock nods “we will David we will. Besides I'm sure his Majesty will throw some surprise our way soon enough.”. knock knock knock knock the three men look to the door in surprise and growing dread before Ryan leaves them to open the door revealing the messenger a letter held in his hands “hello sir I have a message from His Majesty the King.” Ryan takes the held-out letter and closes the door. Tearing it open he reads it face darkening the farther he gets before throwing it on the table “Why am I not surprised!” David opens his mouth confused but is interrupted by the sounds of approaching footsteps, grabbing the letter Brock scans the room before his eyes land on an unassuming chest in the living room as David rushes toward the door. 

The door opens revealing Evan holding a basket filled with wet clothing “hey I saw that guy with the fancy clothing and horse riding through the forest again, what did he want this ti-?” Evan looks around the room confused as Brock sits on top of a chest, Ryan stands rigid near the table, and David lies face down on the floor “are you guys ok?” Evan asks humor lacing his voice. David nods into the ground as Ryan sheepishly fixes the chair “I finished the laundry” Evan says heading towards the chest that Brock is sitting on, Brock starts whistling as Evan comes to a stop in front of the chest and stares at him expectedly “are you gonna move?” Brock shakes his head sweat starting to appear on his forehead. Evan’s amusement gives way to annoyance as Brock stays seated “c’mon Brock, can you at least grab the pins for me?” Brock shakes his head a guilty frown on his face as he looks at Ryan and David eyes pleading for help. Ryan looks around frantically as Evan stares Brock down “I won’t hesitate to throw this entire basket on your bed if you don’t move.” Wide eyed Brock slowly shakes his head, a look of resignation comes across Ryan’s face and he lets himself fall knocking over a chair and collapsing on the ground causing the other three people to all look at him with various stages of shock and worry on their faces. “Ryan?!” Evan and David rush over and pull him into a sat-up position “what happened?” Evan exclaims putting his hand on his forehead “sorry I haven’t been feeling well today.” Evan’s faces changes to relief as he stands up to grab a cup from the kitchen “I’ll get you some water.”. He walks out the front door “really Brock that’s the best place you could think of?” shrugging apologetically Brock takes the letter and leaves the room returning a second later hands empty as Evan walks back into the house a cup of water held carefully in his hands. 

 

A large group of small tents and wagons rest in a secluded forest clearing. A couple knights sit around a large unlit fire pit an air of unease covering the group. “why are we still here?” “doesn’t he know what will happen?” “he’s young he probably doesn’t care.” “or he’s just arrogant and self-centered.” “it’s not like it’s the first time he’s put people in danger. We all know what happened to the ol-”. “are you sure you’re not the arrogant ones here?” a new voice breaks the gossiping knights out of their talks and cause them to look up seeing Lui and Mark standing behind them deadly glares pointed at the now bashful knights Mark steps forward “talking bad about your king in a public area where anyone could hear you doesn’t seem very smart.”. A younger knight clears his throat freezing at the dark looks now aimed at him “w- um we were just wondering why we’re still here if our king's business is done.” Mark scoffs smiling with teeth bared “and how would you know the king’s business is finished?” the group of knights look at each other in confusion. An older knight stands brows furrowed in annoyance “the talks of trade and alliance are done for now...we should be home in our kingdom?” Lui grins at the knight before looking out into the forest “there is more in the world than peace talks and trading. Now!” clapping his hands together he grins sadistically “since you have enough time to gossip that means you have time to train.” the knights grumble as they stand and walk over to a line of small wooden structures on the other side of the camp, Mark and Lui watching them with troubled frowns. 

Luke’s Pov 

“do they really think so little of me? Can I really blame them?” a leaf from the branches above drops in front of my face causing my head to rear back into the tree behind me “ow!”. I hear footsteps approach as I hold the back of my head “is this where you’ve been?” I look to the side and see Mark standing next to my tree. He has that damn all-knowing look on his face again “what I can’t come out here and appreciate nature?” he doesn’t even need to say anything for me to know he’s not amused with my sarcasm. “you were listening in, weren’t you.” upon hearing his tone my eyes start rolling before I can stop them “no! I was just bonding with this...tree.” I gesture at the tree halfheartedly before turning towards the forest with a frown “I’ve been king for six years now, you’d think they would trust my judgement a little bit.” I can’t help the frustration from entering my voice. I sigh as a hand grabs my shoulder and softly turns me around to meet his worried gaze “I think I'm gonna take a walk, clear my head.” I pull my shoulder away and start walking deeper into the trees “go back to camp I’ll be fine I promise.” a sigh was my only answer. The forest got denser the longer I walked “Maybe they’re right. I’m supposed to put my kingdoms safety before anything so why am I worried for a kingdom that I don’t rule?” looking around I feel worry at the back of my mind as I realize I don’t recognize where I am “Shit, they’re gonna kill me.”. I sigh before perking up as the sound of running water hits my ears, with a smile I run towards the sound pushing my way through low branches and high bushes. I run out into a clearing the familiar stream bringing a smile to my face as a wave of exhaustion hits me, sitting down to lean against a nearby tree and sliding down my eyes grow heavy “I’l..close them...seco-” my eyes drift shut. 

I’m standing in fog looking around I feel dread pooling in my stomach “Your Majesty! Help!” “Mark? Lui!” looking around I see them struggling to pull themselves up off the ground. I start moving toward them legs going faster once I'm close enough to see the looks of terror plastered on their faces. “it’ll be ok I’ll get us out of here!” I desperately try to pull them up, but no matter what I do they keep collapsing. “Luke!” I feel the whiplash as my head turns to see the faint outline of Evan standing in the fog. “what do I do?!” I could feel my panic rising as I look between my now unconscious friends and Evan “Evan?! Please I need to save them...help me!” he starts moving toward me his movements slow and unbalanced, as he gets closer I make out three sets of hands holding onto his arms and legs “Evan wha-?” I ask watching as his face reflects absolute terror. A sudden emptiness in my hand causes me to look down at the empty ground around me “no no no please! Lui?! Mark?!” I frantically look around, but all I see is fog. Falling to my knees and feeling along the ground yields no results “the-they can’t be gone.” I hear the footsteps stop behind me, turning around I see David his eyes empty and face pale on the floor “David?” following his outstretched arms I realize they’re holding onto Evan’s leg. Looking up into Evan’s face, partly bypassing the other two sets of hands attached to Ryan and Brock, I recognize the fear well, but it takes a second to realize it's not aimed at me...it’s for me. He lifts a hand reaching for my shoulder the fog thickening the closer he gets “I’m sorry I’m so sorry.” his whispered apology breaks me out of my confused trance. Looking into his eyes I see out of the corner of mine his hand coming closer to my shoulder, as they touch everything goes black. 

“Luke? Luuuke? C'mon wake up.” my eyes shoot open to see Evan with a hand on my shoulder shaking me an amused smile on his face. “oh, hey you’re awake.” he stands up and extends a hand, his smile starts to falter the longer I stare “what’s the matter? You ok?” I slowly nod before grabbing his hand and pulling myself up “yeah I'm just a little out of it. How long was I asleep?” Evan shrugs walking to a nearby tree and picking up a basket filled with apples “I don’t know I was completing my chores and saw you.”. He turns around to look at me his expression and body language worlds different from my dream, I smile and look up to the sky seeing it’s later than when I first entered the clearing “I should get back to the camp. Wanna come along?” he nods smiling “sure oh let me tell you what happened with Ryan today it was so strange.” I smile as he talks about his day. 

 

Third person Pov 

From the branches of a tree the shadowed figure watches the two men walk out of the clearing. They jump from the tree and walk to the tree Luke had been sleeping against and hold out their hand. After a second black lines appear on the bark and rush into the outstretched hand getting absorbed immediately. The figure sighs before turning to the rest of the clearing “You’re a smart man some part of you will understand my warning...I can only hope the rest of you will heed it.”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey if you want to know about other things I'm working on check out my tumblr ashleygren.tumblr.com


	4. A perfect paradise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> umm I've said before I'm really bad at coming up with titles and names for stories, so when it came time for me to name this story I called it Sleeping Beauty-Vantoonz. One of my siblings gave me the idea for the new name a few weeks ago. I like it because it kinda references whenever Evan speaks french and that of the three languages I tried to learn I was most successful in learning french (I'm still clueless with it). Sorry that the chapters a bit shorter than usual, enjoy the chapter and don't be afraid to comment!

David walks into the clearing eyes roaming before landing on Evan sitting by the stream guitar held in his arms striding forward he stands over him “is tis where ye been?” looking up Evan smiles before looking back to his lap “I was just thinking.” sitting down he looks from the instrument to Evan’s hands “let me guess, about ye birthday?”. Shaking his head he nervously looks down. Gently picking up the guitar he half-heartedly plucks at the strings “I was thinking about what I could do in town...as a job.” surprise flits across David’s face before unease takes its place “oh? Well tats te be expected, any ideas yet?”. He nods “well there’s only three things I'm good enough. I could hunt like Ryan or bake with Brock, but I want to play music.” looking up in surprise David blushes before throwing an arm around a smiling Evan and hugging him close “aahhhh tat’s me boy!” Evan pushes away and starts playing a soft melody. watching David’s smile changes to a wistful frown “I can’t believe ye’ve grown up so fast.” glancing over Evan stands up guitar held under his arm smiling “I should be the one saying that, not you. Let's head home.” standing up he smiles sheepishly “I forgot Brock sent me to look for ye.” they walk into the forest and fade from view. 

 

Around a large dining room illuminated by multiple windows servants nail sheets of iron to the wall. Standing in the landing of a large curved stairway the Queen stands gaze hard and filled with impatience, from behind an older woman in servant’s clothing walks up face filled with nervousness “your Majesty?”. Seeing the Queen turn to glance at her annoyed she bows her head “well, what is it?” straightening she wrings her hands “the servants have expressed concerns about the iron storages running out.” lips curling into a scowl she turns to fully face the servant who flinches back at her expression “Why am I getting bothered with this when the solution is simple! Tell the miners to keep working and to not stop until every inch of this castle has been fortified with iron!”. Eyes wide and hands shaking the servant steps forward “they’re already exhausted, if they continue mining without breaks, they’ll collapse!” Slap! Blinking she slowly raises a trembling hand to her now red cheek “I did not ask for your judgment or your thoughts on the matter. Inform the Miners of my decision and get out of my sight.” eyes watering she nods and walks away. Turning back to face the room the Queen glares at the onlooking servants who upon noticing hurry back to their tasks a slight trembling in their hands. 

 

Luke sits in the back of a wagon with a parchment held in his hands, his eyes roam the page a small smile crossing his face every few seconds. Lui walks by glancing at him before turning around a look of surprise then understanding on his face “let me guess another one from Jonathan?” Luke nods folding it up and putting it into a small pocket on his clothing “yeah, he just gets really anxious whenever it takes time for me to get home.”. A wistful smile appears as Lui sighs “I can’t say I blame him this kingdom is nice and all...but it’s not home.” seeing the frown on Luke’s face his shoulders tense in guilt “I'm sorry I know you’re already conflicted about what to do. I don’t mean to make it worse.” a hand lands on his shoulder startling him into looking up. Luke frowns shaking his head “it’s something I need to hear though. A good king listens to all worries so he can make the decision that best helps his people.” looking around at the cluster of tents with knights and servants doing their duties respectively “we may go home tomorrow or a couple days from now I don’t know yet, but I will try my best to get you back to you loved ones soon.” Lui nods a grin on his face mirrored on Luke. “hey! Brock’s here with something for you!” the two men look towards the entrance to the clearing to see Mark walking towards them Brock right behind him holding envelopes. As the two come to stand in front of them Brock beams holding out the envelopes to the three men much to their surprise “it’s rare that you stay for so long and since it’s only in a couple of days we’d thought you might be able to come.” Luke tears open the envelope revealing a parchment with a small map covering most of the space and a group of words in the corner. “I don’t usually risk it, but I bet everything I own that we’re not going home tomorrow.” Luke turns to glare unamused into Lui’s smug grin before turning back to Brock “we’ll be there.”. Nodding Brock starts to turn but stills gaze locked on Luke’s face “Brock?” stepping forward he raises his hand to the now confused king’s forehead. Stepping back with a sharp gasp he looks from his hand to the three men staring at him in concern “sorry, I thought I saw something.” watching him turn and walk from the camp Mark turns to Luke in concern “should we ask about what just happened?” sighing Luke rubs his temple in frustration “I’ll ask Evan about him later I’m more interested in these.” holding up his invitation Mark starts to laugh causing Luke and Lui look at him in confusion “I knew as soon as he told me what they were that we would show up. Now if that’s a letter from Jon you should probably tell him why we’re not coming home yet.” Huffing with light pink cheeks Luke glares at Mark “yeah yeah we all know I’m fucked!” after a moment of silence they burst out laughing drawing confused looks from the surrounding people. 

Coming to a stop Brock looks behind himself before raising a hand gaze hard and calculating. Shaking his head, he continues walking hand now resting at his side “there’s nothing there.” 

 

Ryan sits in the branches of a tree aiming an arrow at a new patch of grass a few feet away. The surrounding bushes rustle before a large buck walks out from the trees sniffing the ground hesitantly, Ryan’s eyes narrow as he moves the arrow into position and pulls back the string. The deer looks back into trees huffing then turning back to the ground, a young fawn jumps out of the trees surprising Ryan and causing him to pull his bow up as he fires. Quietly cursing he watches as the small family rushes away before sighing and climbing down the tree, landing on the ground he walks toward the arrow now stuck in a nearby tree. As he reaches for it a strong wind rustles the bushes and leaves around him, his shoulders tense as he looks around seeing that none of the wind is touching him. “who’s there?! Show yourself!” snapping his fingers a grey light envelops his eyes hardening into a bandana blocking them from view while a light sheen of energy covers his hands. The wind starts to slow down into a light breeze circling a rock in front of Ryan, turning into black waves of magic the wind dissipates leaving behind a folded piece of parchment. A suspicious frown covers Ryan’s face as he waves his hand towards the paper, grey magic lifting it onto the air in front of his face “are you kidding me? No, this can’t be true.” with a snap the bandana disappears revealing wide shocked eyes. Grabbing the now falling paper he wrenches the arrow from the tree and sprints into the woods. 

 

Evan’s Pov 

“I’ve lived here for years and yet somehow I can’t find one house!” stopping and scratching my head I look at the trail I had been following for what felt like hours. My hand absent mindingly starts to pull on my hair, pulling harder the more my annoyance grows “ugh how am I suppose to invite him if I can’t even find his house?!” I throw my hands down and kick a rock into the bushes “ow what the fuck?!” hearing the familiar startled shriek I feel a smile pull at my lips as I start walking toward the continued angry murmurs. Getting closer to the noise I start to see a flash of movement ahead, I stop and tiptoe behind a tree before peeking around and seeing Tyler crouched on the ground holding his shin and looking around suspiciously “whoever threw that you have two options apologize and show yourself or run while you still have the chance!”. At those words I feel a little laughter bubbling up along with slight nervousness “he wouldn’t actually kill me, right?” seeing a dark shape out of the corner of my eye I turn to look into the unamused face of Tyler “ahhhh!” giving me a deadpan stare he moves the rest of the way around the tree “I should have known it was you, I only get hurt when you’re around.”. crossing my arms I glare at his retreating back “the forest is a dangerous place I'm sure you would get hurt regardless if I was around or not.” walking towards him I see a basket full of assorted herbs and nuts that had gone unnoticed before “getting supplies for dinner?” at my question he glances back before turning back and picking up some stuff that had fallen out “yeah I'm gonna try and start a garden with some then eat the rest. What are you doing about?”. “what do I say? Hey I'm an adult and I would like to invite you a fellow adult to my very adult birthday celebration. No that just sounds sad.” a hand waving in front of my face brings me out of my thoughts “hey you in there?” I feel a bit of fear turn my stomach “um I wan- when am I gonna see your house man I've known you for over a week?”. He looks me confused before shrugging, picking up his basket, and walking forward “well come on then.”. 

Third Person Pov 

Evan sits at a small two-person table in an unfamiliar kitchen while Tyler putters about putting things away then making two cups of tea, Evan startles when a cup is put in front of him with Tyler sitting in the seat across from him “so what's on your mind?”. Evan starts to fiddle with his cup on the table nervously looking around the room “I don’t know too many people my age...and the ones I do know don’t live in the village.” Tyler nods taking a sip “that would explain all the weird looks I get whenever I head into town.” looking up he warily eyes before sighing “look it doesn’t take a genius to see that somethings bothering you. What's wrong?”. “I'm having a party for my birthday would you be able to come?!” the two men stare at each other in shock before a panicked frown appears on Evan’s face “we’ve only hung out a couple times and I don’t know if you think of me as a friend, but I want you to come.” Tyler stares wide eyed before throwing back his head and laughing hysterically. Evan looks confused then sad as the laughter continues “I-I thought someone had died you were so nervous!” the laughter starts to die down as he looks across the table taking in Evan’s guarded expression “I really don’t mean any offence; it was just so anticlimactic I couldn’t help myself.” wiping a few tears from his eyes and shaking his head Tyler grins at Evan “of course I'll come.”. Evan’s eyes widen in shock before crinkling in happiness “you’re an asshole, I bet Luke and you will get along great.” he stands up downs his drink then starts walking toward the door, Tyler looks after him confused then shrugs chuckling into his cup “be safe I wouldn’t want to be blamed for your death!” the sound of Evan’s laughter fades with the slam of the door. Tyler stares into his cup smile fading before setting it down standing up and rifling through the kitchen cupboards, pulling out a fancy bottle he looks at it then takes the lid off downing the entire contents. He looks down and sees his reflection “I’ve already done so much harm, yet I keep interfering.” throwing the bottle he blankly watches it shatter against the wall “I’m not old enough to deal with all this.” waving his hand black lines appear under the glass shards and spilled alcohol, watching them sink he turns away and slumps into a chair “Why do things have to be so complicated?”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you've enjoyed the chapter I also have a tumblr that I talk about different Au's and ideas on if you're interested. My Tumblr is ashleygren


	5. Breaking at the seams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Its been awhile hasn't it. I'm sorry to be honest I finished editing chapter 5 weeks ago but my beta's boss kept messing with their schedule so we couldn't visit each other for like a month and a half. thankfully we hung out today and he cleared it, so many thanks to my beta for always being there for me. I hope everyone enjoys the new chapter if you want to point out my grammar mistakes, give constructive criticism, or just say hi don't be afraid to comment.

Evan stands in the doorway of the cottage hands clutching a worn messenger bag in one hand and a guitar in the other, eyebrows furrowed in confusion as Ryan gently pushes him out of the house “I still don’t understand why I need to be gone all day?” Ryan smiles “we’re working on a birthday surprise and we can’t risk you taking a peek.” he then steps back and closes the door. Shrugging Evan shoulders on the bag and strides into the forest features softening as the trees surround him. In the cottage Ryan and David are gathered by the door as Brock stands looking out the window, seeing Evan fade from view he sighs and solemnly nods at the two men before walking to stand by their side “we might as well get this over with.”. All three men snap their fingers becoming enveloped in different colored lights of green, silver, and orange, the lights shoot through door and into the sky before heading in the direction opposite of Evan’s. 

 

Sitting at a table within a large tent with a small stack of paper Luke sets down a quill and leans back “what I wouldn’t give for Jon to handle this shit.” stretching he stills as the sound of a guitar slowly approaches. Looking towards the entrance he sees Evan come into view “what are doing here so early?” smiling he lowers the instrument and pulls a spare chair out “just thinking about if we elope now how long it would take my uncles to catch us.” nervously smiling he glances at an amused Evan lazily plucking at strings “if we left right now and I had my knights stall them we’d at least get a day of marriage.”. Resting his chin on a hand Evan glances around “They sent me out for the day because of some surprise they’re making, so I thought I would come and bother you.” Luke gestures to the paper “sorry I won’t be very great company.” smiling Evan pulls up his guitar “I don’t need much just some music and you.” blushing Luke turns back to the stack of papers while music starts. 

 

The lights of Brock, Ryan, and David land in an empty clearing surrounded by thorns bushes and dense trees, landing on the ground the lights shape into humanoid silhouettes. The silver light disperses revealing Ryan dressed in a dark gray dress shirt and trousers with a silver cloak and gray bandana over his eyes, the light filtering through the trees shows his once rounded ears are now pointed and silver translucent wings peek out from underneath the cloak. Looking around at his companions Ryan frowns uneasily “are we sure he sent the message?” the light silhouette of Brock nods before fading to show him wearing a tunic of bright gradient light and black trousers with a sword strapped to his waist and dark brown feathered wings sprouting from his back “from everything you described I'm sure only he would be that dramatic.” as deep sigh directs their attention to the developing shape of David. Stepping closer the light parts to reveal David covered by a black cloak, dark green shirt, and brown trousers “what if he’s changed?” Ryan turns to face David smiling reassuringly “not likely knowing how stubborn he can be.” Brock nods eyes cautious “whether he’s changed or not keep your guard up. Anything could happen.”. 

The wind starts to collect at the other end of the clearing into a small tornado, a shadowed silhouette appears in the center slowing the wind down until it stops completely. Stepping forward the shadows slide to the ground showing Tyler’s grim face “long time no see.” seeing their hands twitch his frown deepens “has it really been so long that you don’t trust me anymore?” sheepishly looking toward the ground Brock clears his throat “we didn’t know what to expect. Why did you bring us out here?”. Tyler stalks forward to stop in front of the three men “we need to talk.” Tyler stares hard at the men in front of him before lowering his head and kneeling “I’m sorry.” shock fills Brock and Ryan’s faces “I made a mistake and instead of taking responsibility I fled like a coward!”. David’s eye narrow in anger before he pushes past to stand in front of the kneeling man fists clenched “do ye have any idea what ye put us trough? We had te learn how to take care of a human! Twenty years of holding back our strength and magic because he’s so fragile ! Ten you come out of nowhere tinking a sorry will fix everting! How focking dare ye!” David’s outburst draws everyone’s attention the man's face red with anger and annoyance “then ye walk in here trying to be some kind of mysterious figure and tell us stuff we’ve known for years, how focking dare ye!”. Tyler stares bewildered before standing up and nodding determined “I know that I have to things to make up for, but I didn’t come empty handed.” Brock frowns confused “we already have plans” Shaking his head Tyler levels them with a frown “what are you going to wait till the curse comes and hope that king can wake him up?” looking around at the three men now looking away sheepishly. Sighing he shakes his head “I think I speak for everyone here that the curse shouldn’t happen unless everything else fails. My plan is to get Evan safely to the neighboring kingdom.” Ryan crosses his arms annoyance rivaled by the two men beside him “it won’t work he always has guards stationed along the border armed with iron.”. Tyler waves his hand black lines rising from the ground, forming a map on the ground “with all of us combined I’m sure we would succeed...there is one thing I need.” Brock pins him with a frown “what?” “you have to make sure Evan doesn't learn about this. If we succeed you can explain everything to him, but he shouldn’t be fix something I caused.” after a moment of silence they all nod before turning to the map Tyler smiles “let’s get started.” 

 

Sitting huddled in a carriage Brock looks at a blanket wrapped bundle in his lap nervously, beside him a man with short brown hair, dark brown eyes, and grey dotted beard wearing knight’s armor wipes down an iron sword. On the other side of the carriage Ryan and David sit eyes cast down hands clenched into their clothing; everyone turns to the door at the carriage comes to a stop “get out” seeing no one move he frowns moving the sword threateningly “what are you waiting for? Move!”. Scrambling out the door they’re greeted with the sight of a darkened cabin surrounded by trees, feeling a shove from behind Brock looks back to see the knight walk past “this village may be close to the border, but you will be watched step one toe out of line and I’ll hang your wings on my mantle.” walking through the door they look around to see an almost empty room with only a crib turning around they see the knight blocking the doorway “Our majesty has decided you three will being minding the prince until his twenty-first birthday! You will fully integrate yourselves into the nearby village with jobs, human names, and the absence of sorcery!”. Hearing a scoff he turns toward Ryan “he’s not our majesty.” striding forward and grabbing Ryan’s collar he throws him into the wall “Ohm?!” David tries to move forward only to be stopped by Brock’s hand gripping his arm “only one of you is needed, don’t push your luck fae.” turning he strides toward the door slamming it shut as he walks past. Handing a now squirming bundle to David, Brock rushes to Ryan’s side “did he hurt you?” hand closed over his throat Ryan shakily nods before revealing a small line of charred skin on the left side of his throat “he must have had a ring it should heal soo-” a loud wailing startles everyone into turning towards David’s arms. Two small fist free themselves from the blanket revealing black hair and teary brown eyes “Moo take him!” he dumps the baby into a shocked Brock’s arms “why is it crying?!” “I’ve never dealt with a human before, why would I know?!” crowding around they helplessly glance at each other David raises his hand “maybe some magic?” flinching at the glares sent his way he lowers in with a pout “you heard what he said we have to live as humans. That means no magic especially around the human.” looking down at the wailing infant their features soften “we’ll get through this I promise...all of us Evan.” the wails start to fade to a whimper then soft snoring. 

 

Evan’s Pov 

Opening the door I look around the dark room “are they not back yet? When they said gone all day I guess they really meant it.” setting the guitar next to my shoes I start to feel my way to the kitchen, eventually finding and lighting a lantern my feet take me upstairs “they wouldn’t mind if I look for hints, would they?” shrugging I feel a grin tugging at my lips “what they don’t know won’t hurt them.”. looking down the hall I make my way to their office, setting the lantern down and glancing around the room nothing seems out of place. “maybe in their drawers? It can’t hurt to look.” after minutes of failure I slam the last drawer huffing in frustration and glancing around “I guess they anticipated me snooping around, shit.” sighing I turn and start to walk towards the lantern when I feel a pressure against my ankles and my world tilts “oww!” opening my eyes, when did I even close them, I see the floor. Groaning while pushing myself up on my elbows and look at the floor near my feet “there's nothing there how did I trip!?” bringing a hand to my head I look around seeing a sliver of white poking out from under a large chest “what’s this?” sitting up and crawling towards it I snag the edge of the thing with my nail and pull out a letter? Holding it I notice the seals already been broken “now that I think about it, I don’t think I've ever seen this seal?” taking out the letter I find the sides crinkled. 

 

I write to remind you of the task given to you twenty years ago and the fast approaching resolution of said task. While I'm sure you have already made preparations for the trip, I took the liberty of assigning you protection. Think of it as extra supervision so that nothing deviates from the plan, of course I trust there will be no problems from your side of things. I expect your safe arrival on the 21st of this month don’t forget the boy. 

 

King Gordon 

 

Evan’s Pov 

Staring down at the paper I feel numb “boy? What boy? Why do they have a letter from the king?! What task?!” hearing the paper crinkling I blink and see my hands clenched into fists around the sides of the letter. Frowning in confusion slowly I unclench them and set about straightening the page and folding it back into its envelope to slide it back under the chest. “I can’t be the boy he’s talking about, m-my uncles would never hurt me! They love me. Right?” standing I make my way to the desk, grabbing the lantern I glance around the room making sure nothing looks out of place before blowing out the flame. Feeling my way through the room into the hall I freeze hear the front door being opened and familiar voices talking “that took a lot longer than we thought.” “they’re home!?” I quicken my footsteps as Ryan yelps in pain “how many times have I told Evan to keep his guitar away from the door?” getting to my room I hurry and strip off my shirt and shove the lantern under my bed before slowly making my way under the covers. 

 

Third Person Pov 

Walking up the stairs with a frown Brock is followed by Ryan and David “he must be asleep otherwise I'm sure he would have come down to question us.” David nods as the walk into the hallway “more like bug us for clues about his surprise.”. Brock looks into the dark room before turning around “yeah he’s asleep. I wonder what he was doing all day to be this exhausted it’s not that late?” Smirking Ryan starts to waggle his eyebrows “probably Luke. Ow-! Looking at David in annoyance while Brock’s hand covers his mouth “if you wake him up we’re gonna be hounded for answers that we can’t give him, stop talking.” seeing Ryan nod he lets go and looks back into Evan’s room “good he didn’t wake up, we need to be more careful. If he learns about this plan then the last twenty years we’ve been raising him will have been for nothing.” Ryan and David nod solemnly. Closing the door they make their way to their rooms down the hall. 

 

Evan’s Pov 

Eyes slowly opening I sit up and look towards the door, hearing the footsteps fade I release a shaky breath “they are planning something to do with me, I need to leave...Luke’s camp, no! That's the first place they would look for me I need a place they don’t know about.” looking around I slip out of bed and feel my way around the room finding my clothes I quietly dress before wrapping my blanket around myself. Approaching my window I look out into the surrounding forest “there's one place they don’t know about.” swallowing I gently open it and climb out eventually getting to the ground “it’s freezing out here! Why did I leave my shoes downstairs?!” looking back up at the house I see their windows dark and unmoving. Taking a deep breath I start walking forward “oww!” gritting my teeth to keep silent I push through the slight pain making my way into the forest “I hope I remember the way there”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally figured out how to link to my tumblr (curse my adhd brain) so if you want to come see what I'm up to don't be afraid to check it out. http://ashleygren.tumblr.com/


	6. Confessions for all

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh boy it's been awhile hasn't it? I really didn't mean for this chapter to take so long, most of my family have birthdays in november/december so mix that with the holidays and I'm completely wiped out for two months straight. I'm happy to finally update again and I hope you all enjoy and I hope everyone had a ok holiday season.

“Evan! Its time to get up!” looking around tiredly Ryan yawns before raising his fist and knocking on the door, face turning annoyed he presses his ear to the door “Evan if I don’t hear you getting up in the next few minutes I’m gonna let David wake you up, I’m sure he would love to repay you for the birds you woke him up with a few days ago!” hearing no noises from inside he pulls away from the door. Sighing he opens the door eyes closed in slight frustration “come one we’ve got planning and chores to do tod- Evan?” looking at the empty bed Ryan looks around the room eyes focusing on the dislodged blanket and open window. Confusion changing to panic his eyes widen as he turns and runs down the stairs “Evan?!” coming to a sudden stop at the bottom a startled Brock and David watching Ryan frantically search the house “Ryan what’s wrong? Where's Evan?” looking out from a closet he looks at Brock defeated “Evan’s not here. He's not in his bed...I can’t find him.”. “his shoes are here, he has to be here? Have you felt for him?” at David’s question he shakes his head hope returning to his face “he probably went to hang out with Luke, but we’ll feel with you to make sure.” grabbing Ryan’s hand Brock grabs David’s and closes his eyes the other two following suit. From they’re linked hands tendrils of magic start to form before moving outward in a wave through the house and around it. As the wave continues farther and farther their eyebrows furrow in worry “I don’t understand he has to be somewhere, he couldn’t just disappear like this?” opening his eyes and releasing their hands Brock strides to the door “our magic must be wrong, he has to be somewhere. Ryan you go look at the clearing David, I want you to check if he’s with Luke.” glancing at each other they nod before running out the door their respective magic transforming them into their animal forms. Seeing them disappear into the forest Brock walks out a determined frown directed at the sky before magic envelopes him leaving an eagle soaring into the sky and flying off. 

 

A tired Tyler walks through the forest carrying a small bag, seeing his garden come into view he smiles tiredly before it morphs into confusion at the sight of a raggedly clothed form lying in the midst of it. “what the?” cautiously stepping into the clearing and dropping the bag he picks up a long stick and pokes the man’s middle, a groan of pain causes Tyler to get closer and roll the man over revealing Evan covered in dirt and scratches “shit what did this idiot do?”. Pulling the now silent Evan over his shoulder he stands waving his hand towards the bag causing it to fly into his free hand “fucking idiot, let's get you inside and hope that there's no lasting damage.”. 

A now clean Evan lays under the blankets of an unfamiliar bed, his eyes start to open but screw shut when encountering sunlight “just a few more minutes please Ryan?” rolling over and pulling the blanket around himself he relaxes “my name isn’t Ryan, but make yourself comfortable.”. Humming Evan sleepily nods before his eyes fly open and he sits up to see a bemused Tyler sitting at a desk stationed in the corner of the room “hey dumbass! You wanna tell me why I found you passed out in my garden?” looking around Evan sighs relieved “so I did know the way pheew.” falling back onto the bed smiling. Tyler frowns as gaspy chuckles comes from the bed “so no thank you for patching you up instead of leaving you to die of cold?” the laughter stops before Evan sits up and looks down at his bare chest covered with small bandages, reaching for his face he feels around wincing when his fingers hit a dark bruise on his cheek “ow! Shit.”. lowering his hand, he looks towards Tyler suddenly somber “I need to ask you some questions about the king.” nodding expression unreadable Tyler gestures for Evan to follow before walking out of the room, climbing out of bed and standing up Evan hisses and falls down looking at his feet covered in bandages. Huffing he stands back up and walks out of the room jaw clenched, getting to the bottom of the stairs he sees Tyler sitting at the table a drink in his hand and another across from him “what do you want to know?” grabbing the cup and sitting down he looks at table “what is the king like? Is he good for our kingdom?”. Taking a sip Tyler shrugs “he’s pretty mediocre when it comes to running his kingdom and from what I’ve heard he’s a really prideful person.” seeing Evan nod for him to continue he sighs “our kingdoms army is pretty small so we mostly rely on our neighbor to protect us.” choking on the drink Evan pounds his chest “what?!” Tyler nods “yeah King Patterson or something he seems pretty smart, unlike our king who only really excels at trading. Man, I would hate to be the prince of this kingdom he’s gonna inherit a mess.” Evan finishes clearing his throat and looks at him curiously. “the king has a son?” nodding Tyler shrugs before grabbing his cup and taking it to a sink “yeah when I was younger there was this whole ruckus about the prince’s birth and there was talk of a parade where the kingdom would get to see him, but we never saw him. The king and queen never mention him now a days.” looking over at a paling Evan nervously holding his cup he sits back down “there anything else you wanna know about?” Evan looks into his cup and sighs “tell me everything you can.” 

 

Sitting at the empty campfire pit Luke looks over a letter with a frown, lowering it and looking around at the knights sparring he sees Mark walking by “hey Mark?” seeing him look around Luke waves him over “is everything ok your majesty?” Luke nods absent mindedly and gestures to the letter in his hand “yeah I just need some advice about something.” as he sits down Luke holds the paper out to him. Taking it, he quickly reads through it eyes widening at the end he looks at Luke in surprise “are you serious?” shrugging he stands up and starts pacing in front of the shocked knight “I don’t know? It could mess everything up and I don’t want that to happen, but if I don’t do it I'll be haunted by what ifs. How did you know when?” Mark looks the still pacing king over “I didn’t know just one day I said hey this should happen; I should make this happen.” standing to grab Luke’s shoulder with a fond smile he holds the letter up “if you go through with this you have my full support.” nodding Luke sits down a small smile gracing his lips. “maybe I should go find him, get it over with while I still have the courage.” they start to chuckle after looking at each other “that's probably for the be-” a loud commotion near the entrance of the camp draws their attention. Seeing David frantically yelling and clawing at the knights holding him back they rush over “David?! David! Calm down!” breaking free for a moment he rushes to Luke and starts shaking him “is he here?! Please tell me he’s here!” Luke grabs his arms and pushes him away “what are you talking about?! Who?” breathing heavily David looks around in desperation before focusing on the two men in front of him “ye really haven’t seen him? He's not here?” falling to the ground Luke and Mark step forward and try to lift him up “hey we can tell somethings bothering you but you need to tell us clearly what’s going on.” at Mark’s words David tries to push them away “no, I need te find him.”. Setting him down near the fire pit Mark starts to look him over for wounds, while moving back Luke’s arm is grabbed and he’s pulled down to David’s height “Evan went missing this morning, we couldn’t find him anywhere. I need you to find him!”. Mark and the steadily growing crowd rush forward to separate them, pulling a stunned Luke away from the crowd Mark frowns thoughtfully “well? Are you gonna go find him?” confused he looks at the knight now pushing him toward the forest “I can’t. What kind of king am I if I keep dropping everything to chase Evan?” face understanding he pats him on the back “Evan’s never gone missing and you’ve been working everyday we’ve been here. Me and Lui can handle things here you go find him.” hesitantly nodding he turns and runs into the forest, looking back one more time to see a confused Lui approaching David and Mark he smiles and moves into the trees. 

 

An owl flies through the sky before swooping down into the top branches of the tallest one to see Evan staring out at the sky with sad eyes, slightly jolting at the owl’s arrival he softens and smiles reaching out his hand “hey, it's been awhile since I've seen you. Where ya been man? Or woman I honestly can’t tell.”. petting the now preening bird absent mindedly he looks down toward the forest “I feel so lost right now. Everything in my life made sense, but now it all feels made up. Kinda like those stories Brock used to tell me as a kid.” resting his head against the trunk his smile breaks into a frown, his eyes close, and his hands fall to his side. “Evan?!” eye’s sliding open at the far-off noise and head perking up he stills “Evan?!” hearing the noise get louder he holds the trunk tighter “Evan, where are you?!” his eyes widen “Luke?”. Quickly climbing down, he stops right above the lowest branches. A rustling starts up and quickly grows louder until Luke runs into view hurriedly pushing aside bushes and hanging branches, various little cuts and scratches dot his exposed head and hands. Coming to a stop he leans against a tree hands on his knees “fuck I'm out of shape.” Evan leans further onto the branch for a closer look, trudging forward Luke starts to make his way deeper into the trees Crack!. Looking between the branch and the confused man beneath him Evan sighs “fuc-?!” jumping back with a shout Luke looks down to see a dazed Evan lying on the ground holding his head “Evan?! Did you hit your head?” getting helped up he shakes his head “then you mind telling what the hell you were thinking!” seeing Luke’s glare he sighs “I’m sorry for disappearing, it must have been scary bu-” “scary?! Evan it was terrifying you can’t just disappear in the night and not expect us to freak out. You could have been dead out here and we wouldn’t have known until someone dragged your body back to us!” standing back he rubs a hand down his face. Evan glares at the ground fists clenched “they’re not my uncles.” taking in the other man's hostile expression he cautiously steps closer “what are you talking about?” “They’re not my uncles! I don’t know who they are or why they have me! I don’t even know if my parents are actually dead!” looking at a stunned Luke then the ground he frowns troubled “I found a letter talking about some assignment they got twenty years ago...the letter mentioned me.”. frowning Luke walks forward to pull him against his side “Ev, you’re gonna need to start from the beginning for me.”. 

Sitting down side by side against a tree Evan sags into Luke’s shoulder “I was looking through their study and I found a letter from the king.” “the king?! Why would they be talking to that idiot?” he shrugs before looking at the branches above them “it talked about an assignment they got twenty years ago coming to an end soon and how he was sending guards to meet them. At the end he told them not to forget the boy, I think he meant me.” glancing at Evan’s troubled expression with a thoughtful frown he sighs “I don’t know if this will help, but have I ever told you how I became king?” Evan shakes his head “Dad had taken us on one of his trips visiting a neighboring kingdom. Me and Jon snuck away to go explore the forest, we never could stop ourselves even when we knew the dangers, we were attacked.”. Luke’s face darkens “they noticed we were royalty and decided to hold us hostage. We were with them for weeks; at some point they decided my dad wasn’t taking them very seriously.” raising a hand to his eyepatch he hesitates before gently lifting it up, underneath a empty socket with jagged scars around and within stares out “they wanted to take one of Jon’s eyes, but I put up so much of a fight that they took one of mine instead...of course that didn’t stop them from cutting up his face. Dad found us a few days later...Jon can’t remember most of what happened because he was delirious with pain, but I remember how he fought them all to save us even when it cost him his own life.”. turning to look Evan in the face he smiles sadly “the look on his face said he would do anything to protect us, it’s the same look your uncles give you whenever they think you’re in danger.” Evan pulls him into a hug “I’ve never had a reason to think they’d hurt me, but something feels off and I don’t know whether I can trust them. I have nowhere else to go if I leave, nowhere that would keep me away from whatever the king wants me for.”. Deep in thought the two stay still before Luke looks down with nervousness then resigned hope “I know at least one option.” standing he walks to the middle of the clearing a confused Evan hesitantly following, turning to face an increasingly nervous Evan he grabs his hand and drops to a knee “Evan, will you marry me?”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you have any questions about the characters or non-spoilery backstory you should come to my tumblr and ask. http://ashleygren.tumblr.com/


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